Whirling Leaves
by infinityneverlasts
Summary: They say it takes a thousand leaves to make up a Hashirama Tree. But it only takes one to build up the branch, or break the trunk in half. But she never cared much for branches or trunks. While all the other leaves assembled into organized troops, she always seemed to whirl in the wind. A Whirling Leaf.
1. Lines

Her first memory was of lines.

Just. . .lines.

There wasn't anything special about them, at least, as far as she could tell. But even so. . .

They were just lines.

 _"Don't forget, keep the brush vertical! We don't want smears, now do we?"_

Every time she tried to remember anything else, it was always just the same dammed lines.

 _"Amazing work! Alright! Now let's see if we can read this one!"_

They swirled together elegantly, creating an odd circle filled to the brim with both thick and thin lines. Lines always straight, but also curved and wavy. The more she tried to remember, the more it all just blurred together, leaving unrecognizable strokes in her mind's eye.

 _"This one's a little harder, but I think we ca do it! What do you say?"_

When she tried remembering anything other than the lines, she'd catch vague sentences, people talking to her. But about what? She never really knew.

 _"I'm so proud of you Mi-chan! You're getting this quick!"_

When she tried remembering where she was, nothing came.

It was always the lines.

Just the lines.

As if all she had done was stare at the varying lines for as long as possible.

But every time she felt like turning her head to look up, to the side, or where ever it was her guardian was, a white space filled the area they were supposed to be.

 _"Don't worry if you can't get it yet, it takes time."_

Like the lines, the white space never changed.

It was annoying, really.

 _Why can't I remember?_

 _"Why can't I remember it?"_

 _A soft laugh filled her ears, a big hand ruffling her hair. "Mi-chan, all it takes is a little time and a lot of determination. Two things that you have plenty of! Don't worry, you'll be able to someday."_

Someday, huh?

 _"There are big things for you Mi-chan, I just know it!"_

All she had to do was remember. Just remember what the lines were.

 _"Look here Mi-mouto. See these lines right here?"'_

 _"Yeah. . .what about 'em?"_

 _A bark of laughter._

 _"These are more than just lines. At least to us. YHou see, where other see strokes of ink, we see the message hidden behind the ink. Get it?"_

 _". . .no."_

 _She felt herself being roughly moved from one set of arms into another._

 _"Honestly, you can't explain anything! Here Mi-chan, look at this line right here. It looks thick in the middle but thin by the end, right?"_

 _"Uh huh. . ."_

 _"But when it's connected to those lines right here. . .and here. . .do you see how smooth it all looks now? How nothing looks out of place?"_

 _"Yeah, and?"_

 _"When other people see this, they think of the pressure of the brush, how smooth the ink must've been when the lines were made. But what do you see?"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _". . .um. . ."_

 _"Go on, you can do it!"_

 _I see. . .what they mean. Like. . .the strokes and stuff matter too. But. . .I see what's. . .underneath it. It looks smooth, but the edges are too sharp for that."_

 _A pause._

 _"You were nervous whn you write this, weren't you?"_

 _Two different laughs echoed as a pair of arms wrapped around her._

 _"See Mi-mouto? You've got it!"_

Her first memory was of lines.

Lines.

Always the same.

Just what the hell did those lines even mean?


	2. Mission Report

**_Wow. Not going to lie-I'm surprised some of you guys Followed and Favorited already. Honestly, thanks! Please Review what you think!_**

* * *

"Hokage-sama."

Deep tired eyes stared at the ninja bowed before him silently. Sarutobi Hiruzen felt far older than he truly was. And it was only half past noon.

"Mission Report."

At the Sandaime's order, Yamanaka Inoichi stood and handed over a sealed scroll

"Suspect is stabilized and currently unconscious Sandaime-sama." The blonde began, masking his flinch as he spoke of the knocked out three year old being detained in The Basement.

"And?"

Inoichi hesitated. "No evidence of foreign ninja influence as far as we could find. If they did take her, they made damn sure to erase any trails."

Hiruzen quirked a brow, the need to smoke his pipe steadily rising.

"And you found nothing in her mind?" He questioned, the blonde's hesitance fully visible to the old man.

"That's where we're not so sure." He spoke gravely. "One of the younger Yamanaka was sent in to allow her to feel more comfortable, but all he found was lines."

Confusion clouded the Hokage's face.

"Lines? What sort of lines? Which one of your clansmen performed the jutsu?"

"Yamanaka Isamu, a fresh Jounin. His report is included with my own. All he reported was seeing various lines. When I had him recreate them, he claimed it wasn't the same. After four attempts, I had him stop."

Hiruzen sighed, moving to pull out his pipe. "And at what point did you perform the jutsu?" He inquired.

Inoichi repressed a grimace.

There were rules you needed to follow when using the Mind Transfer Jutsu; performing said jutsu on a three year old seven times in the span of three days was breaking the heaviest imposed rules his father had drilled into him and the clan.

The psyche was too fragile to tamper with, much less view, at the age of three. When learning the clan techniques, the youngest people they were able to practice on were ten year olds, by which point their mind would have developed enough to have fortified itself against mental distress.

A three year old was nowhere near stable enough to handle the mental backlash the technique would undoubtably cause.

"After I had Isamu stop his attempts to recreate what he saw, I took a look in her mind." The blonde paused, clearing his throat. "Whoever kidnapped her, did a good job at concealing their presence. All I was able to see were blurred lines. When she wasn't focused on them, she would talk with whoever had her, but they seemed to have removed themselves from her memory. After searching, I can conclude however it was done, wasn't done directly to her mind."

"And what would you propose did it?" Hiruzen asked, voice stern, eyes dark as he blew out smoke.

"A seal, sir."

Smoke ceased to exude from the pipe.

"And what makes you think a seal altered her mind? Was anything found on her body to indicate this?"

Inoichi twitched.

Coughing into his fist, the Clan Head began speaking. "Hyuuga Kana noticed an odd mark on the girl's left shoulder blade with her Byakugan. However, unless the girl's chakra is flared around the speculated area, then it's invisible to both the naked eye and the Byakugan."

Inoichi watched stiffly as a hard edge entered the Hokage's eyes. This was what he was reluctant to report on. She was a child, he knew, but a potential threat to the Village none the less. He had a job to follow, no matter how morally ambiguous it was quickly becoming.

"And how did you stumble upon this information Inoichi?" Sarutobi asked, voice as frigid as the steel in his eyes.

 _When did I become the one being interrogated?!_

He cleared his throat again.

"After Isamu had performed the Mind Transfer, the girl was unstable, her chakra going everywhere in an attempt to protect herself. In the fray to knock her out, Hyuuga noticed the sudden appearance of the seal. Once the suspect was unconscious, any remains of the seal was nonexistent."

Inoichi paused, doing his best to ignore the sudden shift in the air.

"After I performed the Mind Transfer myself, I had Hyuuga Kana remain in the room to see if the seal would resurface. After I was done going through her memories, she reacted as she did the first few times, her chakra lashing out. While the suspect was being restrained, Hyuuga was able to get a better look at the seal, but not well enough to recreate even the basic shape."

There was silence.

"I see." Hiruzen hummed, still refusing to put the pipe back in his mouth.

"We think whoever kidnapped her placed the seal to restrict nearly all her most recent memories."

Inoichi's already stiff back nearly spasmed as the Third's gaze sharpened.

"And what of the lines you saw? Was that a seal as well?"

Ignoring the sudden denseness in the air that dared the blonde to lie, Inoichi continued. "Based off of what Isamu and I saw, we do believe it was a seal. But the memory itself was too blurred and hazy to be able to replicate it properly."

Hiruzen hummed once more, nodding idly.

"And were you able to at least piece together the shell of the seal?"

Inoichi nodded, neck quickly tensing as much as his back. "Yes Hokage-sama. Both mine and Isamu's attempts are included in the Report."

The Hokage nodded once more, face still stoic, but slowly brought the pipe back up to his mouth.

"And the girl?"

 _He's persistent about this. I didn't know she meant so much to him._

"Currently unconscious, and will need at least three weeks to fully recover from the metal exhaustion and possible damage we may have brought on."

Hiruzen nodded.

"Thank you Inoichi. You're dismissed."

As the blonde quickly fled, the Sandaime sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair for a moment.

Keeping the pipe firmly in his mouth, exhaling any unnecessary smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen allowed the pulsing anger he felt to slowly simmer down.

She's three. _Three_. No child should face The Basement, and especially not under the Yamanaka's Mind Techniques. There was always the possibility of permanent mental damage.

Turning his gaze unto the photos of the previous Hokage, Hiruzen frowned.

 _What would you have done? Hashirama-sensei? Tobirama-sensei? Would you have fought for her? Minato?_

A wry smile tugged at his lips at the thought of the ever polite blonde.

 _Ah yes. Minato. How long would it have taken you to tear apart the Five Nations to recover your precious Mihi-chan? What would you have done in my place?_

"Hound." Hiruzen summoned.

In a silent entrance, ANBU Operative Hound was kneeling before him.

"Sandaime-sama."

"There's a potential suspect I need you to personally transfer from The Basement into the Hosptial. Understood?"

Hound nodded stiffly and disappeared.

Yes, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt older than he actually was.

Taking a quick glance at the clock, the man sighed heavily.

And it wasn't even two o'clock yet.


End file.
